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bill. the key is to satisfy moderate concerns without losing support from the more liberal house. but house republicans say that the democratic proposals are still too liberal and will cost jobs. >> if priority one is getting people back to work, how can you think making it more expensive for people to hire people is a way to do that? it doesn't make any sense. and supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor might win support from two unlikely republicans. testifying later today, the first witnesses, the firefighter behind sotomayor's controversial ruling that the supreme court made her overturn on affirmative action. also this hour, democratic senator amy klobuchar on health care. and of course, the supreme court nomination. republican senator olympia snowe, who's seeing the president today. plus, linda douglass, communications director at the white house office of health reform.

good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. for the first time, president obama is strong arming senators, one by one, on health care. it's the big story today at the white house. nbc news white house correspondent savannah guthrie joins us now. savannah, what leverage does he have in these individual meetings? he met with ben nelson, democrat, olympia snowe. what are you hearing out of those meetings? >> reporter: we just saw senator snowe. she came out and talked to reporters after her meeting this afternoon with the president. what's interesting about it, as we all know, the president really wants both houses of congress to pass out a version of a bill before the august recess. yet, senator snowe having just sat down with the president came out and said she didn't think that's doable. she's confident health care reform can get done. she agrees with her broader timetable of getting health care reform done this year. but as for this issue that is very near and dear to the president of getting something out before the august recess, she's not on board. so there's the personal

salesmanship is only getting her so far. at least on that one narrow issue. >> and, in fact, the health care lineup, politically, is sort of similar to what happened with the stimulus bill. olympia snowe was one of those three, key votes on the stimulus package. let's take a look at how hard the white house is working. they sent the health and human services secretary out to jon stewart on "the daily show" last night. >> you're suggesting that it might not be and we might not be doing the best for ourselves by eating, let's say, for instance last night i had fried cheetos. >> the fried snickers at the fair, probably not so much. have a lettuce sandwich or look in another direction. get your kids to put down the video games and run around the block a little bit. there's a personal responsibility in all of this. we've got to change -- >> well, good luck selling that. because that -- i understand the talk and all that, the personal responsibility, i've been an

american all my life. we like sitting. >> especially in our newsroom, right, savannah. we're talking about -- >> reporter: and cheetos too. >> chocolate, chocolate, and occasionally peanut m&ms. maybe we need dr. nancy to come and help us out on the food choices of america. >> reporter: of course, the president has long preached this kind of thing, prevention. forgive me, i think we've got a helicopter flying over us right now. but in any event, the notion being, of course, that that will serve the ultimate goal, not just the healthfulness, but also bringing down costs. but even on that, actually, the white house got a little bit of a blow, again from the congressional budget office, which has been something of a thorn in this whole health care debate. the bill together in the house right now isn't going to bring down health care costs. again, early estimates, this isn't the final bill, but

another thing that's potentially a wrinkle in this whole health care reform debate. i think we've got more than one helicopters going on overhead. >> in the morning, you guys on "morning joe" have the lawn mowers, the vacuum cleaners at the state department. let's talk about the way the white house feels today about what's been going on the hill with sotomayor. are they feeling good about the fact that even a couple of republicans are hinting that they might end up voting for her. >> reporter: i think they're delighted with the way sotomayor has acquitted herself in these hearings. a lot of people have observed, probably correctly, that the way this has all shaken out in the last few weeks, that barring a meltdown, borrowing the words of lindsey graham, that confirmation was likely. now it's just a matter of how many republican votes she will get. she was well coached, certainly did her homework, did a lot of time practices and she's managed to keep the temperature down.

she's not stepping into it and taking what some of us call the judicial fifth. saying, i can't answer that question because a case may come before me that may cover that issue. so she's sidestepped some of the harder social issues, as most modern supreme court nominees do. they're very happy with that. and at one point, she did on tuesday disagreed with president obama and kind of repudiated his whole nation of what's in the judge's heart matters. and i suppose the white house will say, oh, that shows she really is independent. >> now, of course, we still have to hear from the witnesses, including frank ricci, the firefighter, but there will be others in her support. david cohn, the baseball star, to talk about her role in the case that ended the baseball strike. just quickly, let me ask you about all of these reports today. some that we wrote ourselves about hillary clinton. she came out with a foreign policy speech yesterday. she's leaving for the first time in a month today. more than a month for india. first time in overseas trip. she had her arm in a sling, the bad break, the physical therapy,

all of that. b but at the same time, a lot of reports that she's struggling to try to regain her voice and prove that she's not been marginalized by the men at the national security council and the president himself. >> reporter: well, absolutely. i think as you well know, there's often tension between a state department and a white house. and hillary clinton is, for one, known as somebody who is a workhorse and somebody who's going to put her head down and get the job done. she's been extremely loyal to the president. but then again, she does have her own profile. the other thing is, as you well know, the white house desk sent her a lot of action, a lot of policy making here as opposed to the agency. that's a trend not just within the state department, but other areas as well. they love to have the czars and some keep state department folks have been brought over here. i think it's a struggle, but one that her aides downplay and they say she is, of course, loyal to the president and out there doing his bidding. >> and what are the white house folks saying about it? >> reporter: downplaying.

i think that anytime the media are talking about a rift or saying there's some issue, they're not biting. they're saying, look, she's somebody who supports the president and is performing above and beyond. >> vansavannah guthrie, speakinf performing above and beyond, performing above and beyond all challenges, helicopters, lawn mowers, all challenges. thank you. >> reporter: nice to see you. and president obama looking for bipartisan support on health care, meeting today with those moderates who were swing voters on the senate stimulus package. but the big sticking point for republicans, at least, is covering the estimate $1 trillion cost. here's what president obama told nbc news chief medical editor and msnbc host, dr. nancy snyderman in an interview yesterday. >> the american people have to recognize that there's no such thing as a free lunch. all right? so we can't just provide care to everybody. it has no cost whatsoever. you don't end up having to make any decisions.

>> so self-responsibility? >> self-responsibility is going to be critical. >> self-responsibility. susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today." susan, welcome. let's talk about health care and the cost of health care. the cbo estimates, how did they get their arms around that? they say in the white house that they will be bringing costs down. but, actually, the house proposal with its income tax surtax, how far does that go to bring costs down? it really raises money from the wealthy. that doesn't give the incentive to put the incentives in the system. to bring costs down. >> well, it's pretty clear that both the senate versions that are being worked on in the house, it would cost about $1 trillion over ten years, which is a considerable amount of the money. they say they put in place policies that bend the curve, that start to stem the big growth in health care spending. but it involves -- it requires this big investment of money. and you've got to pay for that money one way or another. and the president has promised it won't increase the deficit, which means you have to cut

spending. which they do by cutting medicare and medicaid spending and also by raising taxes. the question is, who's going to pay those higher taxes? >> what does your polling, the "usa today"/gallup poll indicated that the public is pretty well divided over this. >> it showed that the public is in favor of someone else paying those higher taxes. it was stunning to us. weapon found that most americans think they ought to pass a bill that is important to them. only one in four americans said it wasn't personally important to them that a bill passed this year. but who should pay for it? the popular ideas were having business pay for it, by either providing health insurance or having to pay a fee or a fine to the government. or having wealthy individuals pay for it, which is the direction the house has gone. but that approach is likely not to fly in this senate finance bill, which we think is probably the vehicle for the bill that finally gets enacted. >> let's talk about judge sotomayor, because there are a number of republicans who voted for her the last time around and could well vote for her this time. but on the committee, there have

been a couple who have been really going after her on and off, sort of a good cop/bad come routine. this is senator graham with her again today. >> judge, i hope you understand the difference between petitioning one's government and having a say in the electoral process and voting for people that if you don't like, you can get rid of, and the difference of society being changed by nine unelected people who have a lifetime appointment. do you understand the difference in how those two systems work? >> absolutely, sir. i understand the constitution. >> we've talked a lot about the second amendment. whether or not it is a fundamental right. we all now agree it is an individual right. is that correct? >> correct. >> well, that's groundbreaking precedent in the sense that just until a few months ago, or last year, i guess, that was not the

case, but it is today. it is the law of the land by the supreme court, the second amendment is an individual right. and you acknowledge that, that's correct? >> that was -- >> the heller case. >> -- the decision and it is what the court has held and so it is unquestionably an individual right. >> what do you make of the questions and answers there? >> well, you know, senator graham says he may vote for her and he may, but it's clear that the safe vote for republican senator is against her nomination. that's not going to keep her from being confirmed. >> unless you come from an area where you have a heavily hispanic population and it could be. >> or if you're a moderate republican. but for conservative republicans, i think we're going to see a lot of conservative republicans vote against her. senator cornyn, you know, there's been a big question about him. my guess is he's a no vote. senator hutchinson, who's running for governor of texas. the safe vote for her facing a republican primary in texas is to vote against this

confirmation. >> it could hurt her in the general. >> it could hurt her in the general, but it would hurt her in this republican primary to vote for her. she hasn't said how she's going to vote, but there's clearly those kind of political calculations. i don't think lthere's any question this confirmation would go through, but i would be surprised if we didn't see any number of conservative republicans voting against her. >> susan page from the "usa today," good to see you. and coming up, as sonia sotomayor continues her testimony before the senate judiciary committee, we will break down what we've heard so far with floyd abrams. and later with senator amy klobuchar from the committee. this is "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. geico's been saving people money on car insurance for over 70 years. and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it?

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the senate judiciary committee is back in session. it is day four for judge sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearings. joining us now, constitutional legal expert, floyd abrams, partners with cahill, gordon and randall from new york. good to see you. has this been the kind of argument, discussion on constitutional issues and broad principles that has, you know, elevated the dialogue and informed us as to what kind of supreme court justice she would be. >> you know, i think to a certain extent, it has. probably more because she's shown how well she knows the cases, that she's shown she understands the role of the supreme court justice and in some cases, because she's made clear where she's coming from. i think the difficulty is that everybody up for confirmation tends to use some language, which is identical. everybody says, basically, i

don't make law, i just apply law. the reality is, the problem is, people have different definitions of what the law is. and it's all in good faith. it's just very hard for a hearing like this to get that out. >> and we're going to hear from frank ricci, the white firefighter from new haven later in the day. what kind of impact does a witness like that have, who has a personal story to tell? i mean, her personal story is so dramatic and so compelling, but now you're going to have a man who will tell, we expect, how he didn't get a job and many people feel that this was not an affirmative action case, it's a reverse discrimination case. that's the way critics are characterizing her ruling. how does that play? >> look, i think he has a very appealing and honest story to tell and he had a very strong case. and he wound up winning his case, but by a 5-4 vote. what impact will it have on the vote? i don't think anything.

on public opinion, maybe a little, because he's an attractive guy and he's -- as i say, he's got a good story. in the ultimate scheme of things, it won't effect how she'll vote on the supreme court, as we all think, she's confirmed, and it won't really affect, t the way the public vi her. >> when you talk about the way these republican critics have been questioning her, and it could end up lindsey graham will vote for her, but here's a little bit of his conversation with her, today getting to the issue of her nonjudicial speeches. >> you have said some things that just bug the hell out of me. >> i regret that i have offended some people. >> i believe that my life demonstrates that that was not my intent to leave the

impression that some have taken from my words. >> you know what, judge, i agree with you. good luck. >> floyd abrams, on the gravel meter, did she handle it right, the "wise latina" retraction, but not apology? >> i think so. she had to make very clear and very clear again and again that she sure didn't mean or sure doesn't mean that a latino woman is better than a white man or a white woman. that said, if she hadn't had 17 years on the bench, if she didn't have a long and distinguished record of being a judge, something like this would hurt a lot more. because the senators genuinely wouldn't know where she's coming from. i think she's very fortunate that she's been on the courts so long that she's really able to be judged by what she's done, rather than a phrase out of a speech. >> in your areas of expertise,

your many areas of expertise, there's an op-ed in "the wall street journal" today that caught our eye from john yoo, who himself is under investigation, we understand, for his role in the original legal white house legal opinions permitting enhanced interrogation. but he writes, our constitution created a precedency whose function is to protect the nation from attack. gathering intelligence has long been a key aspect of war. our military and intelligence agencies cannot attack or defend the nation unless they know where to aim. so he's defending the basic electronic surveillance, which has been so controversial and the alleged violations of the fisa law. >> i think the real issue here is not whether intelligence is important, it is whether congress has a role, essentially, the position taken by the previous administration

was that without congressional approval, and indeed, in this case, contrary to an ongoing piece of legislation, the fisa law, the executive branch could go ahead and do this anyway. and that's a prime basis of the criticism and i think it's a justified criticism. >> how tough is this judgment -- i guess there's a political judgment and a legal judgment -- for eric holder in signaling that he's going to go ahead with a prosecutor for those who went outside those lanes of enhanced interrogation of the white house guidelines in their interrogations? >> it's very tough. and i think you said it just right, there's a prosecutorial side and a political side. the president has given every indication he wishes he could put all this behind him. he has enough trouble getting legislation through congress and keeping the public supporting him, and this is divisive. that said, law is law. and law makes certain demands and that's what attorney general

holder's got to decide. and it's not an easy choice. >> don't envy him those decisions. floyd abrams, thank you very much. it's great to see you. thanks for joining us today. >> thank you. up next, we'll be talking to republican senator olympia snowe about her meeting just moments ago with president obama. will she support efforts to write a new prescription for health care? that all next on "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

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the senate health committee's overhaul plan does not have a single republican behind it so far. that's why president obama today met with our next guest, moderate republican, senator olympia snowe from maine. she serves on the senate finance committee and has helped the president gain bipartisan support in the past, the stimulus package, notably. senator, thank you very much for joining us. we learned that max baucus should be your democratic chairman, coming out of a meeting, has just said that the president has really damaged

health care progress, because he's come out against the tax on employer benefits. and that you can't make up the budget gap without it. do you share that view? >> well, you know, i share the president's concern about taxing employee benefits. you really would have to draw a very high line to make sure the average worker isn't affected by having their taxes increased. but, again, it's all part of trying to build a consensus. and the president, obviously, would have to come out and express support or endorse that initiative, because, obviously, he was opposed to it during the course of the presidential campaign. but we're working mightily to come up with additional offsets. and obviously, the president's support in trying to find those offsets, to make sure that this package is budget neutral would be essential and crucial as well. >> what was his argument to you today? >> he wants to see the senate pass health care reform before the august recess.

i mean, he's determined to have that happen. and i explained to him that it was more important to have the time necessary to build a strong bipartisan product within the finance committee, as we are doing on a daily basis, and working through these issues, which are both complex and costly. and that we would be in a better position to be able to get a good initiative out of the finance committee with bipartisan support, both the health bill and finance bill during the course of the august recess and return in september, where everybody's had a chance to review it. constituents and all americans have a chance to examine it as well. and then begin the process of debating it on the floor of the senate. i think that, frankly, this deserves a very thoughtful process that will yield a thoughtful product, even if people would have differences with some of the specifics. >> senator, you can see, though, where the white house has a three-legged stool. they've got the more liberal democratic proposal coming out

of chris dodd's committees yesterday. and then on the house side, they've got the amalgamated bill, which is far more liberal. so if he waits for you and chairman baucus to come up with a more moderate, perhaps more cost-effective proposal, he loses votes on the house side. >> well, you know, i think at the end of the day, we all know it's going to have to be a bipartisan consensus that ultimately will sustain whatever initiative we might undertake. as i mentioned to the president, if you would look back at president johnson, the time in which he initiated the medicare program, it took essentially a year and a half from the time he gave his speech in february of 1964 to when it was signed by president johnson in july of 1965. so this is a mighty endeavor. never in the history of congress have we undertaken an order that really is going to reorder $2.4 trillion, and that we have to find approximately $1 trillion to finance expanding the health care system for the uninsured.

so i think that it's more important to get it right and a thoughtful process will engender great support. and if the finance committee can stand out from the standpoint of having bipartisan support, and the only initiative to do so, i think that will bode well for the future. >> while you were meeting with the president, doug elmandorf from the congressional budget was testifying to the senate budget committee. and very importantly he said, when asked whether the bill crafted by the house leaders and by chris dodd in the senate would propose the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount, he said, on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs. so contrary to the white house argument and the argument by supporters on the hill, that this will bring costs down in the near-term and pay for itself, or help pay for itself,

the c po is sbo is saying it wie opposite. >> that's our point. that everything takes time to work through these issues. that's why we can't rush in with a product that could implode on the floor of the congress or even among the american people. so if you're talking about adding more costs to the debt and the taxpayer without controlling health care expenditures, that's truly a major problem and a major issue. and that's why we're work through all of these issues and finding ways to reduce and to bend the cost curves when it comes to health care. we recognize that. and so i think that's why this is taking longer. as it should. i don't think anybody should be surprised. we can't produce, you know, a $1 trillion, reform $2.4 trillion in health care, 17% of the gdp, perhaps 1,000 or more pages of legislation in 30 seconds. i mean, this is going to take some time. so i think that the more time we give it, the better off we'll be

in the long-term as well as in the short-term. >> is that your final answer, if you will, senator snowe, or do you think that max baucus is going to have his arm twisted so much by the white house that your committee will end up going along with something before the august recess? >> well, i hope we can, and that's what we're working towards. in fact, i'll be returning to those meetings with chairman baucus and others. we're trying to work through these issues and i showed the president the draft framework we're operating with in trying to work through all of these issues systemically to assure him that we're all very committed and we're working with specific issues on specific problems and i certainly welcome his input. but i don't think that this is something that you can ram and jam without expecting that there'll be huge consequences in the final analysis. when you're transforming the size of health care in america, we want to be sure we can at least try to get it right.

we know there'll be changes, but we have to be in the best position possible to lay the groundwork. and having bipartisan support, i think, is part of that. but more importantly, to get the policy rights. and speaking of congressional budget office, we're having difficulty getting and ascertaining the accurate numbers for many of our issues, because they're overwhelmed as well. and i mentioned that to the president. i said, as we move forward, we have to know the numbers we're dealing with, because any nuance can cost billions of dollars. so it's important that that happens as well. and we need that support so that we can make the appropriate and most informed decision. >> olympia snowe, republican from maine and key members of the senate finance committee, thank you very much. >> thank you. up next, new details are emerging out of florida on the murders of that well-known couple, the couple who adopted so many children with special needs. what police now believe may have located. plus, with the first vote on sonia sotomayor set for next week in committee, where do things now stand for the supreme court nominee?

all that next on "andrea mitchell reports." i took a bayer aspirin out of my purse and chewed it. my doctor said the bayer aspirin saved my life. please talk to your doctor about aspirin and your heart. i'm going to be grandma for a long time.

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welcome back. authorities say that they have recovered several guns, one that they believe is the weapon used to kill that couple in pensacola, florida. nbc's mark potter is covering the story. mark, what is the latest on the investigation? >> reporter: well, hi, andrea. the most important point to make is that exactly one week after those horrible killings occurred, prosecutors are now saying that they are concluding now the major part of their investigation. they are saying that the motive in this killing, as far as the killings, as far as they are concerned, is the robbery at the home. a home invasion robbery to steal the safe. unfortunately, in the process of that were byrd and melanie billings were also murdered. these were the parents of 17 children over the years, 13 of them adopted, many of them special needs children. and they will be buried tomorrow after a service here in

pensacola. they did recover the weapons and they do think they have the murder weapon, as you correctly said. they also found the safe. they would not say what's in the safe or whether the robbers were able to get into the safe themselves, but they have recovered it. seven people now are arrested, charged with murder. one other person, accessory to murder. so they say they're wrapping it up. they said, again, it was a horrible robbery leading to murder. andrea? >> a horrible case. thank you so much. our hearts go out to that family. thanks, mark potter. here in washington, judge sonia sotomayor just finished her testimony before the senate judiciary committee. still to come today, witnesses for and against the judge. joining us now, pete williams, nbc news justice correspondent, here on the set. and at the senate, norah o'donnell, msnbc's chief washington correspondent. thanks both to you. pete, first to you. let's talk about the way things evolved today. because there seemed to be some hints from republicans that they might even be in her corner, even though most critical, but

notably there was this exchange with senator graham. >> here's what i will say about you. i don't know how you're going to come out on that case, because i think fundamentally, judge, you're able, after all these years of being a judge, to embrace are right that you may not want for yourself. to allow others to do things that are not comfortable to you, but for the group, they're necessary. that is my hope for you. that's what makes you, to me, more acceptable as a judge and not a activist, because a activist would be a judge who would be chomping at the bit to use this wonderful opportunity to change america through the supreme court by taking their view of life and imposing it on the rest of us. i think and believe, based on

what i know about you so far, that you're broad minded enough to understand that america is bigger than the bronx, it's bigger than south carolina. >> even bigger than south carolina, pete. >> yes, i think it's fascinating here that a couple of things happened. number one, the ranking republican on the committee, jeff sessions, said that he wouldn't support a filibuster and hopes that there will be a vote by the first week in august. that would mean she would be confirmed in time to take her seat on the court when it hears the argument about the campaign finance case in september. secondly, andrea, i think there was a real change here today. the republicans stopped beating her up on the things that bother her, there were still some questions about her, and they started to lobby her. they said, here's a woman who has to be on the supreme court. while she has to listen to us, let's take this opportunity to tell her about future cases. senator graham urged her to uphold laws on military commissions. others said, you know, help us make laws in congress more clear. help us control congressional

spending. so i think there's a general sense that she did fine and she's going to be confirmed. >> this is their last chance, potentially, to lobby a supreme court justice. >> well, she has to listen, right. >> she has to listen. she has no choice. norah, what was the atmosphere there in the hearing room itself? >> reporter: i think that she drew a lot of praise from republicans today on her final day of questioning. i think that's what was significant, from senator lindsey graham, who had originally talked about a meltdown. well, there was no meltdown. in fact, lindsey graham said that her judicial record is generally in the mainstream. he acknowledged she said some things that just "bugged the hell out of me," those are his words, but he admitted he does not think she's an activist judge. senator cornyn from texas also agreeing that her judicial record was pretty much in the mainstream, but he said he couldn't reconcile these two sotomayors, the judicial record, and of course, the things that she has said in her speeches. and andrea, senator chuck grassley, the republican iowa. i spoke with him. i asked him, are you going to vote for her?

could you vote for her? and he told me something pretty interesting. he said he has never voted against a supreme court nominee. in fact, he said he's voted yes, while he's been in the senate for eight of the current justices that are sitting on the supreme court, which i thought was sort of fascinating. so he said to vote against her would be a change for him, but he acknowledged that a lot of the responses he's getting from his constituents are running against sotomayor. so i think we could see some republican votes on this committee for judge sotomayor. andrea? >> and one reason could be the politics of all of this. chris cillizza, do you think it's an accident, entirely an accident that just after some of senator cornyn of texas' tough questioning yesterday, that at that moment, the chairman, senator leahy, chose to put into the record some letters of recommendation and endorsement from major hispanic groups in texas. >> well, andrea, you and i both know there are no accidents in

politics. and especially on something that is as orchestrated as a supreme court confirmation hearing. no, look, john cornyn, in addition to being from texas, also had to chair the national republican senatorial committee, the committee that is in charge with electing republicans in 2010. and he knows very well that offending someone who is seen with a huge amount of pride in the latino community, sonia sotomayor, is not a savvy political strategy. senator leahy was simply reminding him of that fact. >> a timely reminder. pete, finally, what about guns and the whole second amendment issue? >> i think for many republicans, this was also their marker about why they may vote against her. they were concerned about her ruling that said the second amendment doesn't apply to the states. . the supreme court will undoubtedly take a look at that. that may be one they cite if they decide to vote against her. >> thank you all so much. and this note, 45 years after the beatles made their

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the president is warning his critics that his administration will push through his health care agenda this year and the white house is urging congress to get their business done before the august recess. linda douglass, communication director for the white house office of health reform joins. first, i think we're going to pat leahy, the chairman of the

judiciary committee. if i'm correct. senator leahy, i know you've just taken a lunch break. are you about to take your lunch break and then go into your witnesses this afternoon? >> actually, we've gone back to the witnesses, the aba there, senator whitehouse, sheldon whitehouse of rhode island is chairing for he. we're going to take turns on these witnesses. you know, i was there for all of judge sotomayor's testimony, but on these panels of witnesses, we traditionally, most senators are not there. we have different senators take turns. >> well, when do we expect to hear from frank ricci and what do you think the impact of his personal story will be? >> i don't think it will affect the outcome at all in that case. it was very clear that judge sotomayor not only followed precedent, the district court below followed both second

circuit and supreme court precedent. would people rather have had a different outcome? sure. i imagine most people would. and if the case would come up again now, there would be a different outcome, because the supreme court has changed their precedent. but a lot of judges agreed across the political spectrum agreed with judge sotomayor. i think she did what a judge is supposed to do. she followed precedent. >> from what we've seen, jeff sessions, your counterpart, your republican counterpart is indicating no filibuster. a vote before the august recess, a floor vote before the august recess, so that judge sotomayor, if she's confirmed, which now seems more and more likely, would be able to sit for that september 9th rehearing on the campaign finance law. >> it would be irresponsible not to give her a vote before the august recess, especially if the court is coming back in a month early. and i've heard the same thing from a number of republican senators.

she will get a bipartisan vote. she will be confirmed. i agree with those senators that say there'll be no filibuster, there shouldn't be. she will be confirmed. some will vote against her. the majority of senators will vote for her. and she will be sitting on the bench when the supreme court comes back in september. >> do you think that there is any damage done with these hearings in terms of all of the attention paid to her speeches? are people now, in the future, going to be very much more careful in the way they express themselves, if there's any chance in the world that they may be some day considered for the high court? >> millions of people watched this through web streaming and television. a comment i've heard from so many people, she decided thousands of cases, and all they can talk about is a couple of speeches? i think more people were turned off -- i would hope that people would not be reluctant to speak out, give their speeches. because ultimately, when you

have a judicial nominee, somebody who's had more experience on the federal bench than anybody currently sitting on the supreme court, someone who's also had more experience as a federal prosecutor than anybody -- or as a prosecutor, rather, than anybody sitting on the supreme court, you want to look at what they did there. and i think most americans found that and i think that's why a lot of people were kind of turned off by hearing over and over and over again, well, did you say "wise latina" or not? you come right down to it, are you going to be a wise judge? have you followed the law? will you follow the law? will you be fair? will you work hard? and she's demonstrated in everything she's done, the answer to that is yes. >> quick question, i've got to ask you whether you deliberately asked -- or rather, introduced all those endorsements from hispanic groups in texas, very

pointedly right after senator cornyn had finished his interrogation of her. any connection that wasn't jus coincidence, gosh. >> right. very good trial lawyer, indeed. thank you very much for clarifying that. just something we noticed. senator pat leahy, chairman of both hearings, always good to see you. former prosecutor and trial lawyer. when we come back, linda douglas on health care. stay with us. so many arthritis pain relievers -- i just want fewer pills and relief that lasts all day. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills. just 2 aleve can last all day. perfect. choose aleve and you can be taking four times... fewer pills than extra strength tylenol.

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's progressive.re's somcall or click today. linda douglas, communications director for the white house. we heard a big pushback from olympia snowe. she told us that it's way too speedy to try to get this done by the august recess, that

there's a responsibility in the senate finance committee to get it right and she's really argued with the president apparently, on his you know, pushing for hastier response from senate finance. >> and of course, you know, the president certainly listened to senator snowe, a senator he respects very, very much. but there is tremendous momentum developing. they've been waiting for congress to ask for 16 years. we are closer than we've ever been. just a few moments ago, the american medical association issued a letter supporting the house version. this is very interesting. the american medical association, in the past, not a supporter of health reform, now endorsing the legislation. the house is moving forward. they're going to be voting on their bill in the next couple of weeks. we understand that for the senate, this is very difficult, but the president really is

calling upon both houses to pass the legislation to move this forward for the american people who are suffering under the weight of these rising health care costs. >> excuse me, pardon me, didn't mean to interrupt, but there was another setback today fra fr the congressional budget office saying that the house bill and the chris dodd senate bill will both lead to increased costs and not to the cost containment that you all have been projecting. >> the office was talking about the health bill from the senate, which does not have any jurisdiction over public health care spending, medicare and medicaid, and that is what the congress has the legal authority to regulate. one of the ways we're going to finance health reform is to cut all the waste in public health care spending and the committee that the cdo was talking about

does not have any jurisdiction over the programs. where he's going to have to look is what kind of legislation comes out of the finance committee. that's the committee that we are waiting for. they're the ones who are going to be talk about the tremendous savings we're going to be achieving. >> all right, thanks for waiting. that does it for us today. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. tomorrow, pat buchanan, pat sh rurks m. contessa brewer picks up coverage next. could someone toss me

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